Judge rules for Fertitta's Golden Nugget, trumping gamblers who went for broke

Updated 8:23 am, Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Tilman Fertitta acquired the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casinos in 2005, adding locations in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Biloxi, Mississippi, and Lake Charles, Louisiana to the original lineup in Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nevada. less

Tilman Fertitta acquired the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casinos in 2005, adding locations in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Biloxi, Mississippi, and Lake Charles, Louisiana to the original lineup in Las Vegas and ... more

Photo: Melissa Ward Aguilar, Hc

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Entrepreneur, developer and restaurateur Tilman Fertitta poses by Pleasure Pier on Jan. 28, 2012, in Galveston. The company's first Landry's Seafood opened in 1980 in Katy and grew into an empire with billions. less

Entrepreneur, developer and restaurateur Tilman Fertitta poses by Pleasure Pier on Jan. 28, 2012, in Galveston. The company's first Landry's Seafood opened in 1980 in Katy and grew into an empire with ... more

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Hc

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Fertitta gained majority control of the company in 1986, became CEO and took the company public in 1993. Today it's privately held. The headquarters is at 1510 West Loop South in Houston.

Fertitta was one of the original investors in the Houston Texans NFL team.

Fertitta was one of the original investors in the Houston Texans NFL team.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Hc

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Landry's holds the naming rights to the left field bleachers at Minute Maid Park. A fan who catches a home run can receive a gift certificate to one of the company's restaurants.

Landry's holds the naming rights to the left field bleachers at Minute Maid Park. A fan who catches a home run can receive a gift certificate to one of the company's restaurants.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Hc

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Landry's operates the Tower of the Americas in San Antonio, with Chart House Restaurant at the top of the 750-foot Hemisphere landmark.

Landry's operates the Tower of the Americas in San Antonio, with Chart House Restaurant at the top of the 750-foot Hemisphere landmark.

Photo: LISA KRANTZ, Hc

Judge rules for Fertitta's Golden Nugget, trumping gamblers who went for broke

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It may sound like a gambler's worst nightmare, but a judge has ruled that 14 gamblers who won $1.5 million at Houston businessman Tilman J Fertitta's Golden Nugget casino in Atlantic City must give back the money

Judge James Isman of Atlantic County, N.J., Superior Court ruled June 13 that a mini-baccarrat card game was not legal because the decks of cards in use had not been shuffled.

"We were 100 percent vindicated by Judge Isman's ruling," Golden Nugget said in a statement.

Mini-bacarrat is a simple card game in which the goal is to get a hand of two or three cards, with a total closer to nine points than the banker's hand.

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The Atlantic City Golden Nugget is one of five such casinos owned by Fertitta's Landry's, Inc., an international corporation that includes about 450 dining, hospitality, entertainment and gaming destinations, its website states. The others are in Las Vegas; Laughlin, Nev.; Biloxi, Miss.; and Lake Charles, La.

In the too-good-to-be-true mini-baccarrat game of April 30,2012, Atlantic City Golden Nugget players raked in $1.5 million over 41 straight hands, after they realized the cards were coming up in a specific pattern, according to the Associated Press.

After the game, some players cashed in chips valued at about $900,000, leaving $600,000 or so to be redeemed later, the Golden Nugget statement said.

When the casino refused to honor the remaining chips, the gamblers filed a lawsuit against Golden Nugget, asking the court to force the casino to cash the remaining chips. The 14 customers also brought a variety of other lawsuits against the casino for consumer fraud, civil rights violations and other claims, the statement said.

The casino offered to cash in all the remaining chips at full face value, although Golden Nugget said it was confident it had done nothing wrong, according to the statement.

"Remarkably, and despite this generous proposal, the gamblers and their lawyers steadfastly refused and selfishly wanted more damages than just the gambling winnings," the statement said.

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"Instead of walking away with over a $1.5 million win, the gamblers must now return all of their gambling chips to the Golden Nugget and, according to Judge Isman's ruling, must now also return approximately $900,000 previously won and cashed out."